amanda_readingnwritinglife's Reviews (180)

This book was not what I expected. I have recently found myself going down a rabbit hole of cozy mysteries, more specifically, British mysteries. I thought this one would be like the others. And in some ways it was, but I was pleasantly surprised by Veronica. She is amazing and I'd love to be friends with her. I think she'd be amazing. Well, I'd probably spend all of my time scared of what drama she'd get me into, and that's what makes her the best book friend. :) I love Stoker and I am really hoping to see a lot more of him in the next books to come.
This was a great mystery with lots of action and it was easy to get sucked into this world. The thing I liked the most was that Veronica is a scientist and was just about the opposite of all the other women her age. Just a really cute book that I recommend to everyone.

This is another one of those cozy mysteries that I think can't surprise me. I actually looked at this one over and over because I thought I had actually already read this one. The cover is so cute, but it's the same as a lot of these kinds of mysteries, so I just wasn't expecting to be surprised. I was. I liked the twist that makes her just a little bit different from other books like this. I liked the fact that not only could I not figure out who the killer was, but I was having a hard time even figuring out who were nice people and who weren't. Addison did a really good job of making me doubt almost everyone at some point in the novel. There was a large cast of characters that almost felt too big at first, but I eventually got everyone sorted out. I also like that there was a very well done almost love triangle. I say almost because nothing really happened with either men, but Alex was invited on a date by both men. That's all I'll say about that. I am really looking forward to the next book to see a continuation of Alex's character as she grows and learns more about herself and her mother's family. Such a great opening to a series.

I'm way invested in this story by now. I love the actual concept of this series, and the way she's been able to just add more people into the "family" and keep expanding the overall storyline of Dr Whitney being the ultimate bad guy. This doesn't give anything away, but if you're reading this review and you haven't read the other books before this, then go back and start at the beginning.
First, if you don't like romance novels that have matehood in it, then I would skip this series, and actually I would actually skip all of Christine Feehan's novels. That seems to be an element in almost all of her books. It is a nice break from some of those angsty romances and sometimes I just need to know that the two characters realize their feelings and don't spend a lot of time going back and forth with each other. I do love this series just because of the concept of the super soldiers and the spin that Feehan put on it. I recommend this for adults only as it is really spicy, as are all of Feehan's books. And please, start with book 1. :)

I haven't read an historical romance in years, and I'm so glad I jumped in with this one. I got the recommendation from an online friend who suggested it. It was funny, cute, and just a lot of fun. Mr. Malcolm is London's most eligible bachelor for the season, and his friend finds out that he has a list of the attributes he wants in a perfect wife. The friend tells his cousin (who wants Malcolm but has been ignore by him because she failed a couple of his items), so she devises a plan to invite a friend of hers to visit and while she's there, she hopes that her friend will be able to check all the boxes on Malcolm's list and then turn her back on him once he has decided she is perfect. The friend, Selina, doesn't want any part of the scheme, but she agrees to go along with it anyway. Mishaps and fun ensue. I really did smile a lot reading this book and it was a really nice book. I also just saw the description that says it's going to be made into a movie. That'll be a funny rom-com, and I'm definitely here for it.

I know I'm way late to the game on this series, but I'm happy to be here now. I liked this book because she switched things up. We found out right at the beginning who died, and then we go back to when Kinsey first met the victim and watch as she's piecing together the puzzle. I will admit that I had correct suspicions in this one and that doesn't usually happen with me and mysteries. I kind of had the bad guy pegged from the beginning, but not in the way or for the reason I thought.
Anyway, if you haven't read A and B, then why are you here at C? :) Go back and start at the beginning.

Well, this was another one of those books that I might have skipped over had it not been part of a challenge I'm doing (reading the NPR book concierge). Instead, I'm really glad I picked it up. It was really more entertaining that I thought it would be.
We follow Jennifer Worley as she makes her way through college and graduate school in San Francisco working in a strip club. First of all, it was nothing like what I expected strip clubs to be like. I mean, my only reference point is TV shows, and this was nothing like that. Anyway, the cool part about it is that the dancers came together and formed their own union when they wanted to negotiate with their bosses, and then later, when the place was going to be shut down, they worked together to run the place by themselves.
Jennifer also did some research into the history of stripper's unions, and had some fascinating data on all of that. I just found this book to be really enjoyable and educational and not at all like I was expecting.

I will start by saying that maybe this kind of general fiction just isn't my favorite, but this whole book seemed like a fever dream of some kind. I spent quite a bit of time confused about when things were happening. There were so many flashbacks, and not like really far back in time flashes, but sometimes she would be talking to someone at night and tell them about something that happened that same night instead of walking us through it in real time. It was just odd to me, and like I said, I don't read much general fiction, so maybe that was part of the problem. I also just could not take how immature and really dumb some of her decisions were. Like, she knew girls were being kidnapped and taken away really close to where she lived, and she still insisted on walking around alone at night... all the time. I just couldn't understand it. That could also be because I have a 20 something daughter and I just kept thinking about how freaked out and upset I'd be if I were this girl's mother. Anyway, I could not connect with 'Astrid' at all.
I did love the random ticket stubs meaning something twist... that was a really cute idea for fortune telling. I just could not get into this. The ending did leave me with some hope, but not enough to pull the rest of it up.

This is my first book by Sandhya Menon, but it won't be my last! I loved everything about this book. It made me smile every time I picked it up, and a couple of times I laughed as I was reading. I loved Sweetie so much and saw so much of the teenager I wish I could've been in her. I felt such a big connection to her, and for her to stand up and believe in herself (even if she was just faking it at the beginning), she finally became who she wanted to be, and I am in love with both Sweetie and Ashish. This was the cutest love story and I cannot wait to add all of Sandya's books to my TBR. The best thing I've read in a while!

I don't really know what to say about this one. I feel like she has a great concept and even the overall storyline with the witches has been entertaining to follow along with... however, I feel like she's following some kind of formula that I'm kind of over after 9 books. Of course, not the romance... I mean, I know a lot of those books are formulaic, but I mean the main characters will get together in some kind of way and realize they are mates, and then they'll spend the middle parts of the book having sex and figuring out some puzzle, and there is always an extra single male who is part of the solving of the mystery, and then that male is needed somewhere near the end to either save the life of one of the members of the couple, or they will need to save his life, and a threesome will happen. But, everyone stresses that it's just one time and it's no big deal. Then, usually that man will be the main character in the next book. The whole thing feels weird to me. I actually love this series and everything else about the books, but then it feels like she's throwing in this gratuitous scene in each book and I'm not sure why. Anyway, I will be back for book 10 and probably book 20 or however many she wants to keep writing. :)

The subtitle of this book is Notes in Praise of Black Performance, and I feel like that's exactly what I was shown in this book. Hanif Abdurraqib does such a great job of weaving his poetry in the middle of these stories. I was touched and educated by this book and I'm thankful that he was willing to stand up and say what he wanted to say and not try to end with some platitudes about how things will be fine and they will get better because people have been saying that for too many years and not much has changed. It's because of writers who share their stories that some of us are changing, and I can't help but feel a little hopeful about that.